Keeping my silkies warm in Michigan

[5cutechicks]

We have 3 silkies and live in michigan and I am so worried about keeping them warm, they are 6 months old and I think they quit growing, they are all only a few pounds, tiny little chickens! We have 1 confirmed roo and think the other 2 are hens but no eggs yet. They are family pets and we love them so much we don't want them to die. The lady we got them from said they do just fine in the winter here and only lost 1 last year and it was fridges here, but she also had LOTS if chickens! I have been reading about a snuggle safe disc that people sometimes use for outdoor pets and wondered if anyone has ever used them? I do not want to use a heat lamp/light bulb, I am terrified of it starting a fire. I've read alot and people seem to have mixed feeling on heat or no heat, I tend to feel its not great for them since chickens have survived hundreds a of years with out heat and birds seem to do just fine in the winter! We have 1 other chicken she's a Rhode Island Red and she survived last winter just fine and we used no heat for her just tons of bedding and closed her up in her coop. She doesn't get along with our silkies so we added an apartment to our coop for them. My silkies don't seem to be really smart like or Rhode Island, they won't go in there coop at night they sit at the top of the steps in front of the opening to there coop so every night we have to put them in the coop and close the door. They sit right in front of the closed door, they will not roost at all. Wondered if anyone out there has silkies in a cold climate!

 

[chicmom]

Hello, they will do just fine in the cold. Silkies are surprisingly cold hardy. And really, you already know how to keep them warm. Lots of straw for them to cuddle in during the winter is the key, if they don't seem to want to roost. I wouldn't use any artificial heat either.

I think they will grow a bit bigger for you. They're still pretty young. It did take my silkies longer to start laying than some of my other breeds of chickens. And with winter coming, it's possible you may not see eggs until spring, when daylight hours get longer.

I'm in Ohio. The sucky thing about winter for me is frozen water. I change the water twice daily when it's winter. I use rubber buckets, and the tops freeze. I keep two buckets. One at the house, and one in the coop, and I just exchange them twice a day. You can step on the bucket since it's rubber and it flexes, and the ice will just pop out. If you get a heated waterer, that is awesome, but I also like to get out to the coop anyhow and check on things, so it really isn't that bad to just take a bucket down each time.

A friend of mine had a coop that was pretty small, like a rabbit cage. Her chickens all slept in there, with lots of straw, and they were fine each winter. My hen house is big. It's an 8x12 storage barn type, with an attached, covered chicken run. this weekend, I'll be putting tarps around the run to ward off the wind, and then I like to put a bail of straw in there for the flock to roost on and they will scratch around and spread it all over the run. A flock block is good to give them something to peck at, and it helps with boredom.

Take care and stay warm up there!
Sharon

 

[Mother of Yeti]

We have 3 silkies and live in michigan and I am so worried about keeping them warm, they are 6 months old and I think they quit growing, they are all only a few pounds, tiny little chickens! We have 1 confirmed roo and think the other 2 are hens but no eggs yet. They are family pets and we love them so much we don't want them to die. The lady we got them from said they do just fine in the winter here and only lost 1 last year and it was fridges here, but she also had LOTS if chickens! I have been reading about a snuggle safe disc that people sometimes use for outdoor pets and wondered if anyone has ever used them? I do not want to use a heat lamp/light bulb, I am terrified of it starting a fire. I've read alot and people seem to have mixed feeling on heat or no heat, I tend to feel its not great for them since chickens have survived hundreds a of years with out heat and birds seem to do just fine in the winter! We have 1 other chicken she's a Rhode Island Red and she survived last winter just fine and we used no heat for her just tons of bedding and closed her up in her coop. She doesn't get along with our silkies so we added an apartment to our coop for them. My silkies don't seem to be really smart like or Rhode Island, they won't go in there coop at night they sit at the top of the steps in front of the opening to there coop so every night we have to put them in the coop and close the door. They sit right in front of the closed door, they will not roost at all. Wondered if anyone out there has silkies in a cold climate!

Hello. I live in New Hampshire. I have a small coop (holds 12) I have 9 regular size chickens & 1 silky hen named “Yeti” yes she’s all white. Yeti is very small prob only a pound. Because she’s so small she can not perch with the others at night but goes in one of the nesting boxes instead. I use fine shavings. They are our pets also. Because of Yeti I purchased some Sweeter Heaters which are completely safe from fires. I put one over the nesting box she uses & hung the others. I don’t put the heaters on until the temp gets in low 50’s or 40”s but I had many eggs all winter long. The only problem with using heaters is that they get used to having them so if you have a power outage youlll need a generator if it’s temps their not used to. Yeti is 2 now but would also sit in the doorway at night when she was younger. She is our favorite & for the smallest has the biggest personality.

 

[Ponypoor]

I am in Ontario Canada, and have 3 silkies and when I first got them I used a Cozy radiant heater panel. They snuggle up to that together. I have a few other regular chickens and lately two of the Silkie hens (the other hen is thon eggs having gone broody) have been found roosting with them at night. I was almost tempted to leave them on the roost but worried about them hopping down in the dark.

I have a solid hen house inside my barn insulated but don't plan on heating, but will put the cozy heater back in, esp since I likely will have chicks next week.

Like all animals they get acclimated to weather, but will appreciate a luxury like warmth! Get a heated waterer it will be your best purchase, I even have a water trough heater for the horses. Much needed in a cold climate.